1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to harness and specifically to stirrups. A device is disclosed for use in combination with a standard stirrup and its stirrup strap for selectively altering the position in which the stirrup opening hangs.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A horse saddle stirrup ordinarily hangs from the saddle leather or stirrup strap in such a position that the stirrup opening faces a side of the animal's body. Many devices have been proposed to alter this stirrup orientation by approximately ninety degrees, so that the opening faces the front-to-rear direction of movement and is immediately in the correct position to receive a rider's foot. Because the saddle leather simply hangs in a loop from the side of the saddle, and particularly with western saddles, the width of the fender causes the leather to lie against the horse's body in a reasonably flat condition, most prior proposals have involved a stirrup bracket having two horizontal mounting axes at right angles to each other. A pin following one of the axes is suspended in the loop of the saddle leather, and a pin or other mounting device following a perpendicular axis is attached across the opposite sides of the stirrup. The result of such a mounting is that the stirrup is permanently facing a front-to-rear position with respect to the horse's body.
Representative U.S. patents illustrating the state of the art as noted above include U.S. Pat. Nos. Re. 9,244 to Flora, 295,129 to Nolen, 482,996 to Dacus, and 985,799 to Harper. Variations of such right angle repositioning are known wherein the stirrup is also moved laterally of the horse's body and saddle leather by a nonsymmetrical suspension of the stirrup. U.S. Pat. Nos. 33,930 to Eagle and 2,978,855 to Horst illustrate such an offset mounting of the stirrup.
While it is evident that a mechanical bracket can be employed to orient a stirrup in any angular position and at various degrees of offset from the suspension point, a problem that attaches to all such brackets is that the stirrup could present a danger to the horse in the event of a sideways fall unless the stirrup is free to return to a position parallel to the horse's body. The first mentioned group of brackets having right angle axes makes no provision for returning the stirrup to such a parallel position. In addition, this group makes no provision for selectivity in stirrup orientation. In the second group, and particularly with respect to the Horst patent, the more complex brackets offer no improvement in protection for the horse and may present a larger body that could injure the horse in a fall. It therefore remains desirable to eliminate bulk from the stirrup, to allow for the selection of a stirrup angle, and to permit return of the stirrup to parallel position with the horse's body in the event of a fall.
A presently preferred technique for setting a stirrup angle is to wet the stirrup strap and permit this leather to dry while held in the desired degree of twist. U.S. Pat. No. 3,827,215 to Edenfield discloses a tool for holding the stirrup in twisted position while the leather dries. Although this technique can be used without adding hardware to the stirrup, it is not entirely reliable and does require considerable advance preparation before the strap can be used.
The present invention offers a solution to the various short-comings of the prior art, as will be described below.